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The only rice I had to make the ground rice with was arborio. It turned out pretty tasty, the rice smelled kinda like peanut butter when it was being toasted.

My friend Vipa, a Thai who I've known since I was about 7 (almost 40 years) is a wonderful cook, and she says it's not real larb unless you toast Kao neo (sticky rice, raw, not cooked). She also said that one must crush it in a mortar/pestal (or in a bowl with a glass) because the grinders "give it too much heat and make it too small."

Alas, my cuisinart is too big to grind rice and my grinder smells like coffee powder, and I don't have a mortar/pestal (it's on my x-mas list), so believe it or not I had to resort to putting my toasted rice in a ziplock and use my hammer on it to get it to break up . After much hammering which also scared my cat, I finally had my ground rice.

Snowangel, thanks for the tips on the sweet rice. I even have some, but didn't think to use it. I will next time. (Sweet rice is the same as sticky rice, yes?). Also when you say you use raw pork, do you mean ground pork?

When our Vipa used to make it for me as a child, she would get a hunk of pork (no idea what cut; we'd go to the market, and they'd cut a piece off a hanging skinless pig) without much fat, and take the cleaver to it. So, it was not really ground, but pretty close. But very little fat. Fat, was reserved for other thing.

Don't forget that sticky rice is not only used ground in larb, but also cooked at a vehicle for this wonderful salad. The chances in Northern Thailand (or southern Thailand, for that matter) of serving romaine or any other lettuce we typically get, is not common. As I said earlier, I think the larb has traditionally been an accompaniment, not the primary. The other stuff flavors the rice -- the staple (sort of like butter or sour cream on a baked potato).

Ben, you can get a 5-pound bag of sticky rice for a couple of bucks in the I-district, and you should, because it rocks. Not exactly larb, but in the larb vein, there's a popular Thai sausage made with pork and lots of garlic and lime juice, and bulked up with cooked sticky rice. I've made it at home with ground pork and it's great. I think I turned it into an omelet once.

Does everybody know how to do Thai-style eggs? Beat the eggs, salt with fish sauce, add a little lime juice, and cook in oil. Great accompaniment to larb, or pretty much anything else.

I will try to pick some up this weekend. I have to say that I am on a Larb kick. It is so damn tasty and easy to make! Katie and I had it again last night as a quick meal before we picked up around my place for the holiday.

Ill have to give that sausage a go sometime...how would it work in patty form? I dont have any good way to stuff em!

They are very skinny, ingredients listed as wheat flour, margarine, sugar, spices salt.

They were somewhat hot and spicy, and had a definite taste, but not one that reminded of larb. The group consensus by Peter, Diana and I was that the after taste was nasty. The good news was that the package was only $.79.

I think that my larb was a shade dry and could have used a touch more fish sauce and lime juice too.

I fogot to mention when I had larb leftovers the next day, since I didn't have anymore lime juice to make the dressing more juicy, I drizzled just a tiny bit of peanut oil over the larb and lettuce and the improvement was remarkable... no more dry larb salad.

I will now 'fess up and say that it is this "Larb" thread that finally convinced me to stop lurking and register as a member. I had never heard of the dish and certainly never eaten it but it just sounded so interesting that I had to have a go.

Can't say I was much impressed with my result - and that is always a problem if you don't know what you are aiming for then you don't really know how far you are off the mark!

Still I could see so much potential in the dish that I am determined to have another go - but not with chicken! I'm not a fan of ground chicken to begin with but it's what I had on hand in small enough quantity to make for one! (Actually, I ground it myself - a couple of boneless, skinless, thighs.)

But I did a bit of searching for Larb recipes and they seem to differ so very much! Maybe I will try to visit the library and get out a couple of Thai cookbooks and see if I can replicate another recipe.

Thanks to all of you for enticing me to try this dish and to join such an interesting group.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason.” William Strunk Jr., The Elements of Style

Hey, n.l.l., welcome. If you were drawn out by a larb thread, you are my kind of poster.

Try making a pork or beef larb; they're harder to dry out than chicken and have more flavor to start with. Then, when you're mixing the dressing, taste it and adjust as you go until you have something you like (the flavor will be very strong, though). Then put on more dressing and more rice powder than you think you need. There should be a puddle on the plate when you're done with the larb.

Ben, the traditional thing to do with the Northeastern Thai sausage is to stuff it into thin casings and make one-inch links, then deep-fry those. I've never stuffed sausage, though, so I just make patties and saute them in a pan with a little peanut oil. Maybe col klink and I can have a Thai sausage-making day and write it up. There are other Thai sausages, too--the one I described is just the easiest.

Thanks, Mamster - I will certainly try again - probably with beef. I have to do stuff like this when there's just me to feed - when hubby is working late! But when the opportunity presents I will try again and report back.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason.” William Strunk Jr., The Elements of Style

Okay, that's it. Tonight I make larb. With pork. And maybe some mung bean noodles.

Larb.

first time miss j?

i can't stress enough that most recipes don't call for enough fish sauce/lime juice. right or wrong, most people like it a little more "wet". don't be afraid to make a mixture of fish sauce/lime juice/sugar to serve on the side. i find that people tend to spoon some on the finished product.

made a dish inspired by yum nam sod tonite, which seems to be a happy little cousin of larb. my version was basically larb with the addition of a few peanuts and ginger slivers. quite satisifying, although the next time i would actually have *less* dressing and a lot more herb and heat. this dish, to me, should be very herbal and spicy.

My Thai friend made me larb as part of our Christmas Eve dinner. It was the best larb yet! She made hers with ground pork, and started by sauteeing it in about 1/4 c. chicken broth (no oil). When cooked (a few minutes) she then added her thinly sliced shallots, ground toasted rice, ground thai red chili pepper, chopped green onion, fish sauce & fresh squeezed lemon juice, and cooked for another minute or so, also adding a bit more chicken broth to make it nice and juicy, and topped with cilantro at the end. She served it with whole small romaine leaves, thin sliced cabbage wedges and room temp steamed long beans (traditional in Thailand). So I learned that if my larb is too dry (which happened before), I can add a little more chicken broth which I don't think I used any chix broth when I made it before... and that no oil is needed at all. And that lemon juice works great in place of lime juice.

Thanks for the reminder - I promised myself and the board that I would make another attempt at Laab using pork rather then chicken - must see if I can schedule a lunch date with myself and my kitchen in the next few days!

And so I did it today. I'd be reluctant to call it Laab - let's say a thai-style pork salad since I mucked it about rather a lot. Hard to get ingredients here and a phone call distracted me and I forgot the ground rice and the shallots! Still I had a delicious lunch.

I used the mini-processor to chop the pork and poached the pork with a minced clove of garlic, a tablespoon of fresh ginger (ground) and a tbs or so of fresh jalapeno (minced) in home made chicken stock, then I added just one tablespoon each of lime juice and fish sauce and the chopped green onions - forgot the shallots - must turn off that phone! I used half the zest of a lemon (no lemongrass). I tasted it and added about a teaspoon of Sriracha sauce. I served it on a bed of shredded romaine and topped it with some chopped fresh mint. I missed the crunchiness of the rice and I certainly wish I had added the shallots (I thought I had my mise en place in place - WRONG).

Next time I will double the lime juice and the fish sauce (I'm a bit of scaredy cat with new tastes) try to remember the rice and shallots and report back.

Despite all the errors, omissions and substitutions, this was a very, very tasty salad and far superior to my first attempt. If I wasn't already full from eating this preparation, I would start again and try to get it right.

I think this is just a great thread. Without it I wouldn't have attempted anything like this and would have missed out on a new experience. Thanks all of you.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason.” William Strunk Jr., The Elements of Style

So I had to try it again! This time my mise en place was all in place - no missing ingredients and it is so gooooooooood! I think I could taste every single ingredient in it - and I can't say that about many things I cook. Only substitution I was forced to make was lemon zest for lemongrass - lemongrass is available here but not without a bit of travel and my car lingers in the garage hoping for a quick diagnosis. I admit to reducing the chilies considerably and I'm glad I did - not yet acclimatized to Thai spices in huge quantities. Thanks, this will be a permanent part of my repertoire.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason.” William Strunk Jr., The Elements of Style

Will be making larb gai on Saturday as part of a Thai feast. Haven't figured out the rest of the dishes, but we'll do them all family style, served at the same time per David Thompson's recommendations (except for dessert, of course).

I made Larb for the first time last week - and I've got to say, I just can't get past that fish sauce. I only used a couple of tablespoons and the stench of it nearly knocked me off my feet. I thought I had just ruined dinner. Fortunately, the fish sauce blended in/cooked out somewhat, so the dish was edible - but I won't be making anything again with fish sauce. I could taste fish sauce all evening. Gah!

Ladybug, your reaction is not only understandable but the only one a sane person would have.

Nevertheless, I implore you to give it several more goes before swearing off the stuff. It's rank odour dissipates quite quickly and enfuses such wonderful flavours...I'd hate for you to miss out on these.

Ladybug,
I had the same reaction the first time I ever had fish sauce, I even threw the bottle away because I knew I would never touch it again.
The first time was in a soup where it didn't have a very strong presence but it was all I could taste, it actually took about 3 or 4 more times before I could get past the smell/taste and know I love it and splash it all over the place.
NOT my body however!

Made larb gai as one of 6 Thai dishes on Saturday. Of the 14 diners, only one person other than myself had experience larb previously. The larb was the first dish to be depleted, and I started with a lot of chicken (equal amounts of breast and thigh, no offal, all minced by hand). The mincing by hand made for a much lighter texture than any ground stuff I've had.

Just to piss off Tommy, I also made a Thai tuna ceviche (thanks, Mamster), shrimp and coconut soup, spicy catfish with eggplant, red curry with sirloin and cashew, and stir fried asparagus & asian green beans. I had also planned on making coconut stick rice served with mango and ginger ice cream, but I got distracted while playing with the L'il Varmints and ended up making curdled ginger cream. Good flavor, disgusting texture.